How it was Before
by anyonecanwrite
Summary: Hasn't anyone ever wondered how Luke, Thalia, and Annabeth met in the first place? This is a story of their two years together.
1. Chapter 1 - In the Coffee Shop

****Chapter 1:****

**Thalia's POV**

I sat in the coffee shop, alone in a booth, mentally checking my list of "Things I need for running away." It's not much of a checklist, but this is what I have so far: My backpack, and my bracelet, Aegis. I'm not much of a _bracelet_person, but Aegis is more than just an accessory. If I tap it, then it expands into a shield, with a fearsome face of some snake woman carved into it.

Why am I running away? It's because of my family. My mom's a famous actress, and I've never met my dad before. Mom always tells me he left when I was really young. And I have a younger brother. But he died when I was three. I don't even remember what he looked like. I only remember his name. Jason.

A few years ago, my mom became a huge alcohol addict. And I mean _huge. _She became so addicted that some nights she came home from the sets heavily drunk and not able to talk.

That's when I decided that I was running away. No one loved me. If my brother was alive, then maybe I would have had a reason to stay. Or if I knew my dad.

I was lost in my thoughts, when the chime for the door rang, and some boy entered.

I'm used to checking my surroundings before I go somewhere, or scrutinizing the people in that place. I've had horrible encounters with these strange monsters really often, so I stared at the boy carefully.

He was probably my age, ten, or maybe a little older. His sapphire blue eyes scanned the coffee shop, and he had tousled, light blonde hair.

He walked up to the counter where you order, and stood there for a few seconds. A girl waiter asked him, "Would you like to order, young man?"

The boy shook himself out of his trance, and replied, "No. I'm just taking a look at the menu." He pretended to be thoroughly interested in the espresso and fraps. Then, when the waiter turned her back on him, he stole one of the croissants that were on display on the counter. He quickly stuffed it into his pocket and glanced around the shop to see if anyone had caught him. No one had.

_Man, _I thought. _This guy's real good at stealing._

I didn't notice that he was staring straight at me. I looked back at him.

He smiled and came to my booth and sat down across from me.

"Hey, I'm Luke," he introduced. "Want some bread?" He held out the croissant.

I laughed. Somehow, talking to this guy was super easy. "What an interesting way to start a conversation. I'm Thalia by the way."

I was hungry, and I didn't have any money, so I gladly accepted the food.

"Do you steal often?" I asked. Then I noticed the backpack at his side. "Are you running away? Where are going? Do you have any parents?"

"Yes, yes, I don't know, and…" Luke didn't finish.

I took a deep breath. "Let me guess. You have one parent, but don't know your other one. And that one parent you have is utterly _crazy_?"

Luke's jaw dropped. "How did you know?"

"Cause my life's a lot like yours," I responded, smiling.


	2. Chapter 2 - We're A Couple?

**Chapter 2:**

**Luke's POV**

"So your mom's a heroin addict?" I asked. "And your brother -"

"- Younger brother," Thalia interjected.

"Yeah," I said. "He just...died?"

Thalia looked at the ground. "I-I prefer not to talk about it."

I smiled apologetically. I wanted to ask Thalia if she wanted to run away _with _me, but she looked intimidating with her spiky raven black hair and piercing blue eyes.

"Do you want to run away with me?" I blurted out. "I mean, if you _are _running away."

Thalia nodded. She grabbed her backpack, shouldered it, and grabbed my hand. "Come on. Let's get out of here before somebody notices you stole that croissant."

"Good idea," I replied.

As we were walking out the waiter stared at us. "Cute couple," she murmured approvingly.

Thalia reddened. "Um...we're not...together. Only friends."

"Oh, but you two look cute anyway," the waiter replied.

Thalia immediately let go of my hand and walked out of the coffee shop. It was amazing how she thought of me as a friend when I had only just met her.

The waiter looked at me and winked. I blushed knowingly and ran to catch up with Thalia.


	3. Chapter 3 - The Perfect Place

**Thalia's POV**

Why in the world did that dumb waitress think we're a couple? It was pretty obvious I had just met Luke then and there. What's _wrong _with her?

But Luke is kinda cute. OKAY..._really _cute. The way when I said my brother's dead, he flashed that amazing smile at me…

I shook my head to get rid of my thoughts.

"Thalia," I said aloud. "You have to stop thinking like this."

I didn't realized Luke had caught up with me. "Thinking like what?" He asked.

"Nothing. So…" I muttered, trying to change the subject. "Where are we gonna, like, live?"

I mentally face-palmed. I sounded like a stuck-up brat!

Luke laughed. "Oh, I have the perfect place."

_**1 hour later**_

"This is your idea of a perfect place?" I asked, confused.

Luke had led me to a cave, except it was much cleaner. There was an itchy-looking carpet on the floor and a tiny pit to place logs for a fire. That was about it.

"Well, if you have a better idea…" Luke challenged, crossing his arms.

I brought up my hands in defense. "No. No it's fine."

Luke smirked. "I thought so."

I looked around, prodding the rug with my spiked boot. "You seem like you know this place. Been here before?"

He sighed. "Yeah. My mom used to take me here when I was real little. Then...she changed."

"It's okay." I said, trying to comfort him. "My mom used to come home drunk most of the time."

Luke raised his eyebrows. "Really?"

I nodded.

Just then, I heard a faint rumble in the distance, then a roar and a crash, like a tree falling down. Luke frowned; he probably heard it too.

"What was that?" Luke whispered.


	4. Chapter 4 - The Hydra

**Chapter 4:**

Luke's POV

It was probably the loudest scream I ever heard. Sure, I've fought a bunch of monsters, and I always wonder, why are they so attracted to me? So I was sure this monster came because of my "scent" or whatever, when Thalia spoke.

"It's a monster again. I've fought them before…"

I looked at her, trying to comprehend what she had said. "They come to you too? I thought it was only me! Why do you think they come to us?"

Thalia didn't answer. "We should fight it _now. _Or it will kill us."

I wanted to ask her more, but I knew she was right. She grabbed my hand and started running out of the cave, toward the cry of the beast.

_Wow, _I thought. _She runs fast when she's scared._

I started to get out of breath. "Thalia...slow...down!"

She stopped.

And that's when we saw the hydra.

It was huge, and had six heads. It looked like a cross between a dragon and a serpent, and I was sure it breathed fire. It's eyes were red, waiting for the kill.

Luckily, the hydra didn't see us yet, and we were hidden in the bushes.

"So," Thalia started. "Do you have a plan or something?"

"No! I thought you did!" I said, gritting my teeth.

Suddenly, without any salient, Thalia jumped out of the bushes straight in front of the hydra's head (or one of them.)

"Thalia!" I tried to whisper. "What are you doing?"

She put her finger to her lips, signaling me to stay quiet. Then, she turned around and faced the hydra, who growled menacingly at her.

I prayed silently that she would stay alive.

Thalia took out a sharp spear, emblazoned with a weird zig-zag design. She yelled out a scream of triumph and dug her sword into the hydra's belly.

The beast staggered, trying to gain strength, and clawed at Thalia, catching her arm. Then the hydra died.

Thalia screamed in agony from the wound she had gotten and fell to the ground.

I covered my mouth in an attempt not to scream her name. Slowly, making sure the hydra was really dead, I came out of the brush.

Thalia was still, but she was murmuring to herself, trying to console herself of the pain.

I took her arm gently and she yelped. "Be careful!"

I carried her bridal-style back into the cave, with her muttering curses at the dead hydra.

"Luke," She said. "I-I think I'm gonna pass out."

I only said one thing, and I felt I said it to convince myself more than to convince her. "You won't die."


	5. Chapter 5 - Children of the Gods

****Chapter 5:****

Thalia's POV

I woke up feeling drowsy and weak. But more than that, I felt extreme pain shooting up my arm, like a bolt of electricity had struck me.

My vision was hazy, so all I saw was a blur of black and a shaggy head of blond hair in front of me.

"Luke?" I croaked, sounded like a frog.

He looked at me. "Rest. You need it."

I didn't argue. I felt _really _tired. After a gash in my arm and killing a hydra, I was beat. I closed my eyes for a couple of seconds, then heard Luke clearing his throat.

"Eat this." He said, handing me a square of...something. "It'll help with the pain."

I popped it into my mouth and began to chew. It tasted like my mom's warm tomato soup. I sighed.

_I could really use some of her soup right now, _I thought nostalgically.

For once, I actually regretted running away from home.

Luke began to unravel a sheet of thick white cloth and started to wrap up my arm.

I winced as he did so. "Is...is it bad?"

He shrugged. "I've seen worse. But you should lay low for now."

I looked at his face, and admired the concentrated look he had when tending to my wound. He looked cute when he was worried.

As he finished, I stood up.

"Woah!" Luke cried, grabbing my shoulders to try to force me back down. "You shouldn't get up!"

I rolled my eyes. "I'm fine! Really! It's just a small scrape."

"All right," Luke said laughing. "But don't blame me if you die."

I thought for a moment. "I wouldn't be able to blame you. I'd be dead."

"Right…"

I unzipped my backpack, taking out a box of band-aids, some food, and a box of mascara.

Luke looked at the contents and smirked. "So you remembered to bring mascara, but not a sleeping bag?"

"Yeah, problem?" I challenged.

"No. No, just saying."

I looked out of the cave. Bright stars twinkled in the sky, and I could recognize some of the constellations. Luke looked up too, and frowned. "Have you ever wondered what's up there?"

"What do you mean?" I respond.

He turned to me. "They tell us it's just stars and planets and stuff up there. But what if there was something more? Something that controls the entire world, like the sky, seas, and death?" Luke looked at as if I were dumb.

I spoke slowly. "I'm not sure I understand."

"The Greek gods," Luke said, wincing as he did so, as if it hurt with every word. "Haven't you heard of them? The King of the Gods, Zeus. And then there's Poseidon, god of the seas…"

"...And Hades, Lord of the Underworld," I finished. "And those other gods, Athena, Hermes, Hestia, Aphrodite. Get to the point already."

Luke rolled his eyes. "With all this weird stuff going on, like our mothers being crazy, we're probably…" He took a deep breath. "...children of the gods."

I wasn't surprised. I really wasn't. My mom had always blurted out random things when she was drunk, like, _I see lightning, his name was Zeus. _I hadn't thought it was _the _Zeus, but all this stuff about the children of the gods finally makes sense.

Luke must've noticed I wasn't wide-eyed. He said, "You're not surprised?"

I shook my head, and pointed to my bracelet. "That explains where I got this from."

"Try to guess who your father is."

I swallowed. "I don't need to guess. I already know."

Luke leaned forward. "Who?"

"Zeus."


	6. Chapter 6 - Kiss

****Chapter 6:****

Luke's POV

Thalia and I were sitting by the fire I built, eating an amazing dinner of chocolate granola bars. I liked how she ate. She wasn't like those weird girls back at school who wipe their mouths with napkins all time. Thalia just scarfed the whole thing in one bite.

I laughed. "You were hungry."

Thalia warmed her pale hands by the fire. "I guess."

I put my bar beside me and looked at her. Tears welled up in her eyes. "Something's bothering you."

Thalia looked up suddenly, as if waking up from a trance. "Um, kind of. It's just so overwhelming, the whole half-god thing. And being a daughter of Zeus is not as cool as it sounds." She laughed dryly, and blinked her tears away.

"You know, why don't we play a game," I said, trying to lighten things up a bit. "Why don't we each take turns trying to guess who my dad is?"

"Maybe sometime else. I'm going to get out for some fresh air."

Thalia got up from her crouched position and left abruptly, without looking back.

I found her near that huge tree where she had slain the drakon. Her hair was tied back, and I could actually see her face. The moonlight lit her pale skin, giving it a whitish glow. In that glow, I saw the streaks of black tears, like train tracks down her cheeks. She hadn't gone out for fresh air. She'd wanted to cry, but she was scared to do it front of me.

I jogged up to her, not caring to stay hidden, because for some reason, I knew she would thank me for being there later.

I cleared my throat. She didn't move, and kept her eyes focused on the stars above.

I sat next to her, leaning on the uncomfortable tree. We awfully close together. I did the first thing I could think of. I grabbed her hand. It was cold, icy cold.

"Thanks," Thalia said, after a moment's silence. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but, thanks for following me when you _knew _I wanted to be alone."

She turned to me, and some hair fell in her face. In one quick move, I tucked it behind her ear, touching her soft skin in the process. She smiled, and before I could remove my hand, she placed her's over mine. This time it felt warm.

Thalia got up quickly and got out from under the tree, me following her.

"Why?" She yelled at the sky, tears streaming down the sides of her face again. "Why did you leave me? What were thinking?"

I caught up with her from behind and put my hand on her shoulder. "Thalia."

She turned around, her eyes shut, refusing to say word. "I won't talk. I won't."

"Open your eyes," I told her. "Open your eyes before I do it for you."

Thalia opened her eyes, those amazing (but scary, at times), eyes that I could look at for the rest of my life. They had rage, madness, anger, sadness, and love in them all at the same time.

"It's his fault," she whispered harshly, pointing at the sky. "It's his fault I'm here right now. It's his fault I'm crying. It's -"

I put my finger to her lips, silencing her. She looked up at me with her beautiful tear-stained face, eyes wide.

I leaned closer to her, so close that our noses were almost touching. "The Gods are cruel. All of them." Lightning stuck in the distance.

I closed the gap between us, kissing her tenderly on her lips, and wrapping my arms around her waist. She automatically kissed me back, putting her arms around my neck.

How long we stayed like that? I do not know.


	7. Chapter 7 - You'll Hurt Yourself

****Chapter 7:****

Thalia's POV

Kissing is just not my thing. I had never kissed anyone, nobody's ever kissed me. Until now. I'm not saying I didn't enjoy the kiss, Gods I did, but...I'm pretty sure I'm a terrible kisser. Luke and I didn't talk about it; we just acted like it never happened. It wasn't that big of a deal anyway.

We went to bed around midnight, after that little..._incident. _I ran back into the cave, before Luke did, and lay down on the hard rocky floor.

"You're gonna hurt yourself," Luke exclaimed, pointedly looked at my bandaged arm. "Sleep in my sleeping bag. I'll sleep on the floor."

"Uh, no. I'm fine where I am. Besides if you sleep on the floor, _you'll hurt yourself._" I knew I was mocking him, but he didn't seem to care. He smiled that amazingly white perfect smile that annoyed me so much, and started unraveling his sleeping bag.

I huffed and closed my eyes tiredly, trying to find a good angle to sleep in. After sometime, I just gave up, putting my good arm behind my head, and my broken one dangling uselessly beside me.

I looked over at Luke, trying to see in the pitch-black darkness of the cave, if he was sleeping or not. I assumed he was, cause I couldn't hear anything coming from him.

I slowly closed my eyes, and before I knew it, I was sound asleep.

Next thing I knew, I woke up in a comfy and warm blanket. Or was it a blanket? I sat up, breathing hard, and looked around, to find a pair of sapphire blue eyes staring at my back.

I turned to Luke and gritted my teeth. "Didn't I tell you I was fine over there?"

"You didn't look fine," he said. "You were mumbling in your sleep about how you hate having your arm bandaged. You also said...never mind."

I narrowed my eyes. "What? What else did I say?"

Luke smirked. "You also mentioned how a certain somebody is an _extremely _good kisser."

I blinked for a second, trying to process what he had just said. Then it dawned on me. I groaned, lying back down next to him.

Luke turned to me and propped his head on his elbow. "But tell me. Am I really a good kisser?"

_Why? Why does he have to make me say it? He's a good kisser. An amazing kisser! Just say it, Thalia. _

I took a deep breath. "Yeah, you're actually...quite an amazing...kisser."

He laughed. "Seriously?"

"Seriously," I replied, trying to keep a straight face.

"Good," Luke said after a moment. "Then I can practice on you more often."

"Stop flirting," I said, shoving him away, cause he was _really _close to me now. "Because FYI, I'm hard to get."


	8. Chapter 8 - You're Blushing

****Chapter 8:****

Luke's POV

We trudged through the dense forest silently, only the sound of our footsteps echoing across the leaves of the trees. Then Thalia broke the ice.

"So," she said. "How much farther till, ya know, a rest stop?"

She wasn't complaining, but I could see how tired she was. Her eyes, usually so bright and piercing had lost some of that quality, and now they looked dull and dark. She must've had a hard time falling asleep, with her cast and all.

I looked at her. "We can stop here. I'm pretty sure your legs feel like they're falling off."

Thalia nodded, pouting. We stopped a couple seconds later, and both of us sat down next to each other, but not as close as the night I kissed her.

We sat in silence for a moment.

"Do consider me as family, Luke?" Thalia asked tentatively.

I nodded confidently, without hesitation. I hoped she thought of me as family, too. We're best friends. If not more.

Slowly, she leaned on my shoulder, and I noticed how well she fit there. Thalia looked up at me for a second, and then turned away. No matter how pale her skin is, I could still see the blush gradually creeping up her cheeks.

"You're blushing," I whispered, touching her cheek gently.

Thalia snorted. "I could say the same to you."

"I am _not _blushing!" I said louder.

"Yes you are," Thalia laughed. "It's really obvious."

"I'm seriously not blushing!"

"No, you seriously _are _blushing."

"Am not!"

"Are too."

"Nope."

"Yep!" And with that Thalia gripped my face in her freezing cold hands, and jerked it painfully to meet her eyes. And then she planted her lips firmly on mine, kissing me softly.

I can't even explain the feeling. Here's the best I can do: It felt like electricity generated from her lips and then into mine. Then that energy traveled down my stomach and became fireworks. Her lips were soft as she tangled her hands in my hair and pulled roughly, pulling my mouth closer to hers.

"Ow!" I yelled, pulling away and prying her fingers out of my hair.

Thalia smirked. "Well, that's what you deserve. It's _your _fault you tried arguing with me_._ _Nobody _argues with me."

"Yeah, thanks," I replied, rubbing my sore head. "I'll keep that in mind next time. And I'm never gonna let you get near me again. Much less kiss me."

I tried to sound serious, but I knew how much I'd want her to kiss me again.


	9. Chapter 9 - Chocolate Donuts

****Chapter 9:****

Thalia's POV

All I could think about for the rest of that day were his lips. They were so perfect, full and soft, and so welcoming. After I kissed him, (I only did that because he was being _so _ignorant), we ate some lunch. Luke had found some shop called Monster Donut, and he bought a batch of a dozen chocolate donuts, my favorite kind.

"Chocolate's my favorite," Luke commented, as he broke a donut in half, giving one half to me.

"Really?" I asked. "I like chocolate too."

He nodded. "I know. That's why I got these."

I raised my eyebrows. "Oh. I thought you got them for...you know...yourself."

"Oh, come one. I'm not _that _selfish." Luke took a big bite of chocolate.

I watched him eat, which was actually quite fun, even if it sounds weird. He had a sprinkle of chocolate powder across his upper lip, and didn't seem to notice it was there.

I walked over to him and sat right in front of his face, cross-legged. He was just about to take a bite of his donut, when I placed my mouth on his. I wouldn't really called it a kiss; more like a peck. I merely brushed my lips across his and pulled back. I could feel him smiling against my mouth.

"Mmm, tasty!" I exclaimed, after pulling away.

Luke looked confused. "Wait, my lips or the chocolate?"

"Both. Cause there was chocolate on your lips, so technically it was both," I responded.

"Oh," Luke said. He took a deep breath. "I know this might sound weird, after I've kissed you once and you've kissed me twice…"

I nodded, gesturing for him to continue.

Luke swallowed. "...I think you're the most beautiful girl I've ever met, with those sparkling blue eyes and jet black hair. Definitely."

My eyes were wide with surprise and fear. "I'm not pretty."

Luke leaned closer to me. "No. You're not pretty. But you're beautiful."

I smiled and took a sudden interest in the fluttering leaves on the trees ahead of me. Luke took that opportunity to grab me by the waist and haul me up.

I raised an eyebrow. "Wh-What are you doing?"

"I want you to dance with me," he said quickly, making it sound like a command.

My mouth was open. "Uh, no! First of all, we're in the middle of the forest. Second, I CAN'T DANCE!"

Luke smiled. "No prob. There's no one to see us in this forest. And...I can teach you how to dance."

I sighed. He was just going to take this opportunity to flirt and be annoying. But what could go wrong?

I had no idea.


End file.
